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MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE Simon Coveney has said he is “confident” that Irish beef will be sold in shops in the United States by autumn this year.
However, it is still pending approval by the US government’s agriculture department.
Speaking at the end of a four-day mission to Washington, he said that Ireland’s grass-based farm model was a “key theme” to create a point of difference for Irish produce.
“Following a significant diplomatic and technical effort, we have made real progress on obtaining access for Irish beef to the US,” Coveney said.
Subject to a forthcoming audit of Irish beef plants by USDA going as expected; I am confident that Irish beef can be on US retail shelves by early Autumn this year.
After that, sights will be set on gaining access to the US market for sheepmeat.
Coveney met with a number of government officials during the trip to outline “ambitious plans” for the agri-food sector.
The minister has faced criticism from opposition TDs, who believe he should ‘tackle the beef crisis at home and in the EU’.
In a statement this evening, Sinn Féin agriculture spokesperson Martin Ferris said the “crisis in the beef industry has caused hardship and stress among producers recently and it seems that the government and Minister Simon Coveney are happy to let the market rule”.
“The problem is that the market can be manipulated by the beef barons and by the large multiple retailers who change specification and introduce penalties at will, while the minister sits on his hands,” he said. Ferris announced that his party is organising a meeting with been farmers and dealers in the beef industry in an attempt to find solutions to the ‘crisis facing the industry’.
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Fair play to Coveney. You can’t rely on a protected European market forever, you need to go out and find new markets. Ireland has a story to sell, green fields, grass fed cows, no GM and less use of anti-antibiotics and steriods.
Some will go out and make a go of it and thrive.
protected European market ; what are you raving about, we have been competing with Piebald horses and third world beef prices for years ; you don’t know a lot about anything really do you dave ?
while you are at it dave why don’t you explain to the listeners why it is that Germany has exclusive access to the Turkish market (7 squids a kilo) while importing 240,000 tonnes of irish beef (4 squids a kilo) for the first time to compensate !
And don’t say B.S.E. I KNOW VETS IN EVERY COENER OF THE COUNTRY !
It could be the more than 4 million Turks and German citizens with part or full Turkish ancestry in Germany. But sure I don’t a lot about anything.
*know.
whats the minimum wage in a beef processing plant in Germany dave ; correct 1 cent ; no minimum wage in Germany !
By your logic then we should only export to England, Australia, and America because that’s where our immigrants are , or should we just import from these countries and keep donkeys because that is where our emigrants still live !
The correct answer dave is because we didn’t push our B.S.E. free status and Germany got in and are now using our disadvantage to their advantage !
just give up dave – you are loosing votes for Fine Gael not winning them – e.g. Jim Higgins loosing his vote west of the Shannon.
Imagine that Fine Gael a member of the shrinking E.P.P. in Europe and no M.E.P. west of the Shannon !
All your chicken comes from china
The minimum wage in the beef processing industry in Germany is €8.50 and a national minimum wage for all sectors of €8.50 will start in January. Any more excuses?
http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/170513/germany___minimum_wage_for_meat_workers.aspx
vacuum packed and then pumped full of water in Holland I believe !
Thailand Seamus, Thailand ;)
you’re very quick with your german info there dave ; all hands to the pumps at the Dublin office of the fourth reich eh ?
Apologies. http://bit.ly/1pIkJnk
b.t.w. there is no legal minimum wage in Germany ; that a union agreement you are quoting !
that was agreed for Saxony last may , last may !
they’re way behind us ; I see Fine Gael Youth are proposing a 2 euro cut in irelands min. wage !
I wouldn’t lick my Lick my lips just yet … Only god knows what this Cretan has promised in return ….. He’s as slippy and slimier than the rest of the self serving axxe wipers before him … Ray Burke .. Bertie .. To name just a couple …
It’ll be gone off by August, surely!
The Americans are going to love Irish beef. There is nothing like it.
We used to have loads of cattle on our farm once , but I just met with my accountant and we both came to one inescapable conclusion ; I will be better of having donkeys as they are not a loss-making exercise …. so that’s what I’m getting into – donkeys. keeping them ’til they die as a monument to beef monopoly.
If the people of Ireland want to eat hormone beef from Canada – courtesy of the E.U. or if they want to chance Brazilian beef ; reported cases of B.S.E there but they are working away no restrictions, then the very best of luck to them.
I love shopping on-line – I don’t have to waste petrol going into town supporting local businesses !
The fact of the matter is some farms are bigger and more efficient and better run than others, like any other business. Not every type of farming will be profitable for every farmer.
Yeah so I’m getting into donkeys ! I’ll call the first breeding pair Simon and Larry , and who knows david if they have a nice little girl foal I’ll might call her after you !
“better run” – correct ! better run is right !
the English term or east Anglian if you prefer is some farms are bigger and more efficient ; why one has to add “better run” having included efficient is puzzling or perhaps Freudian on behalf of Fine Gael.
the fact of the matter is that sheep and heifer farmers were discriminated aginst in the original CAP and this doo-dah in the picture above kept it that way !
The cap originally was designed to compensate IrishFarmers for competing with third world Brazilian beef prices ; when the I.F.A went spouting to maintain the imbalance they clamed that the biggest producers were getting the biggest grants and had to keep them to stay profitable …..funny that they took the big grants to reduce production initially and lo and behold when they were asked years later ……..they had increased production
It seems the I.F.A. can lie as well as politicians !
You questioning the fairness of some farmers and farming sectors getting more subsidies than others begs the question of why farmers get subsidies in the first place.
Plumbers or carpenters or any other trade don’t get any subsidies, they either make a go of it or they don’t.
That isn’t to say that rural areas don’t need support. There will always be a need to pay for roads and infrastructure in rural areas and many other services. It’s why LPT in urban areas goes to funding rural areas and why electricity and phone system have universal service requirements paid for a urban customers.
But if Irish agriculture hasn’t been profitable for 40 years without subsidies isn’t that concerning?
No subsidies in New Zealand for farming at all. Industry manages just fine their with strict standards and exports globally. 2/3 of their exports were agricultural products compared to 1/10th here.
New Zealand isn’t noted for corruption,
oh and why do farmers get grants ; two reasons
1. we have all the guns
2. there is a saying in farming ; “when they come for the land get out the gun “.
3. property rights and constitutional obligations are the real reason dave ….. but I like the two above !
Nobody is talking about taking your property or constitutional rights, just perhaps phasing out farm subsidies.
Farmers would be unable to take on the Irish defense forces small as they are with a total lack of heavy weaponry. I think that is called treason though as it’s “leveling war against the state” under article 39. That would be life in prison with a mandatory sentence of 40 years.
have you never heard of the riflemen of the west dave ; Diarmuid Ferriter contends it was they who freed Ireland from the Brits , a shame they didn’t finish the job and clean out the british civil service that stayed on !
Ah well that’s the great thing about farming we pass on our traditions and our knowledge and our birthright to our sons and daughters !
AND BTW I WAS JOKING WITH 1 AND 2 . BUT SEEING AS WE ARE HAVING FIGHTING TALK DO YOU CONSIDE RTHE CURRENT FISCAL POLICY OF THE GOVERNEMNT TREASONOUS OR WOULD YOU CONSIDER SENDING ARMED GARDAI INTO A BOG TO CONFISCATE PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHOUT A WARRANT TREEASON ; SEEING AS IT WAS ARMED !
I don’t know if you have access to the department of finances projected profits for the sell out to Iirsh water but have they included losses for sabotage in their calculations ; just asking …like !
Not an watt of power or drop of water passes through Eire without the landowners consent dave !
It doesn’t beg the question why farmers are getting grants ; it begs the question ; why has Fine Gael maintained Fianna Fail discrimination in the distribution of said grants !
some teachers are bigger and more efficient than others …. but they get treated equally in terms of pay terms of employment and …. oh wait the new ones don’t !
I saw where some bankers waged a financial war against my children and they were “justly” not imprisoned ; so we have precedent in sentencing of no sentencing for wrecking the country and besides the winners of any Civil War decides what the army does thereafter !
Farmers get grants so the consumers can buy at a low price. The supermarkets ie tesco, asda, sainsbury ect buy their beef at below cost production and sell at below cost production.
The supermarkets need to keep their profits up for their shareholders. meat and dairy factories are paying low prices to the farmers too because they also need to make a profit.
The farmer loses out but you see the people of the world need food. If the people don’t have food then people die. Simple as.
If the world loses carpenters or electricians then i don’t think people would starve!!
If there was no subsidies farmers would still produce food to sell. Those who ran their business well would make a profit, those who didn’t wouldn’t make a profit.
Food prices would probably stay the same. NZ is globally competitive in agriculture without subsidies, we aren’t with subsidies. Prices might rise a bit but we wouldn’t be spending billions every year on subsidies for farmers. Income tax cuts for everybody!
you are not spending billions ever year on subsidies ; the annual spend is 1.4 and a massive chunk of that goes on C.E. scenes to massage the dole figures of rural ireland….
why are you lying De Burgo ? ah yes the answer is in the question; we on this side of the Shannon have been listening to norman de burgo lies for years …..
when the itialins f”"ked off with millions from our marts did the marts close ; no because we had a reserve in them ; we don’t need you nor do we want you but if you want to keep making up rules that you allow the contributors to party funds to break then you are going to pay one way or the other !
A bit of advice Dave ; Go home ; Normandy or scnadanavia … but go home it’s the 1,000 year anniversary of Boru
No dave if there are no subsidies then we will rear donkeys … for the bog in case we get a bad year !
Expect another horsegate scandal to hit the news by October.
What’s the craic with affixing the word “-gate” at the end of every scandals key word? Watergate, horsegate, whatevergate?
The Watergate scandal was the first big one I suppose ; funny that Watergate was a hotel and Bilderberg was a hotel !
Don’t forget the gategate scandal.
paddy maguires gate stole in ’47 by the O’Flaherty’s is it ; I am impressed dave apologies for questioning your knowledge earlier !
I have a very wicked sense of humour betimes !
Don’t worry about us dave we’ll be grand , we’re here since the bronze age ; the germans aren’t the first crowd of greedy foreigners to snoop a look at our stuff !
Cowengate was my favourite gate suffix :)
I’m in the US and I think I’ll pass. USDA Prime beef is a lot better. On the other hand, some cheese, Kerrygold etc etc I just love. Tell those big producers putting $$$ into Coveney’s next election fund to sell their beef somewhere else. Liked his father, Hugh.
have you compared the two beefs and do you think your dairy industry (American) is a cruel and hard business on animals ; I do by the way !
Don’t they allow growth hormones to be used in the production of American beef? That should be enough to put anyone off it
Lot of grain fed stuff in huge feedlots and bad animal welfare. Probably tastes nice but their are moral and environmental issues around it. Ireland can sell to a different market
that’s the way Ireland is going as well ; there was a dairy farmer down the road from me and he zero-grazed some of his cows last summer ; imagine that the finest summer we had in years and the cows in a shed for the summer !
Living here in UAE, Irish beef was stocked for a while, promoted as grass fed etc, it wasn’t consistent however. It’s not available anymore in the supermarkets anyway. Not as good as New Zealand or Australian. Whatever about all of the above commentary, consumers will vote with their taste buds.
That’s a shame. Most beef isn’t going to taste wildly different but you need to market it properly.
Horsecrap dave !
Sure us irish build America for ya. The beefs not for the oul yanks. But all the good strong irish people over there!!!!!
Ever notice how anything with the “Irish” label is always sub par quality?
No
Probably the best beef on the planet
they reckon that waygo beef or whatever its called in Japan is the best beef in the planet ; it’s the most expensive at any rate !
Irish angus beef has won loads of awards in Germany for taste though I believe !
I really want Irish wag you to be a thing,
Maybe in the next boom…
Hopefully the farmers won’t use steroids in their feed. The Irish chest at everything. Especially the people on responsible positions.
1. Obviously you don’t understand how steroids work.
2. Why would they? We have thee best conditions on the earth for rearing cattle and producing beef
unfortunately the truth, as in all businesses there are some farmers who would feed their granny to their cat if they though there was a euro in it !
The vast vast majority rear their cattle properly but there are cowboys as well …. there’s a lad in Oldcastle that has come to my attention ; not on health issues but something equally dishonourable …. there’ll be no inspections there I am fairly sure.
Testing 1,2 testing !
Sounds great for farmers and the exports but it will mean more expensive beef for irish consumers
As opposed to the cheap stuff that was found to be bits of dead horses wearing disguises.
And what business is his brother in?
he’s protecting Ireland’s Greencore’s Golden Ticket in their new plush London offices where they moved to last year … I think they might have listed in London as well …. either way I am sure it was all approved at cabinet !
1. Help protect and create jobs
2. Keep taxes low while fixing the deficit;
3. Deliver smaller, better government;
4. Create a completely new, fairer, more efficient health system; and
5. Overhaul the way our political system works to stamp out cronyism and low standards.
Those who founded the State sought to create the economic foundations for our political independence.
The purpose of the next Government, and the next generation, will be to turn again to that task. I commend
this Manifesto to you as an important step on this journey.
Enda Kenny
Leader
Fine Gael
Hats off to ya Dermot speaking gods honest truth here one of the only ones.
PS any jobs going on the farm i’d be happy to work for next to nothing :)
I’m a sheep farmer joe …. you would have to work for less than nothing …… but if you want a nice leg of lamb for nothing just ask ; i’d rather give it away to a true Irishman than send to the processors so they can screw me and my country !
Larry Goodman dines with the Queen !
Irish beef is of such top class quality that it should be extremely expensive on the shelves in the good old usa.
Just like anything american is in our high streets.
Good development. Well done Minister Coveney.
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